Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Buda-Pest

Last week saw me make my maiden trip to Budapest, Hungary. Having been to a number of European cities sat on rivers I was not surprised by the amazing architecture - but more the sheer amount of it. Everywhere I looked there were postcard like views.

I stayed at the very nice Art'Otel on the Buda side of the Danube. I was lucky to have a hotel room facing the the river and was treated to a spectacular vista of the Hungarian Parliament:



I got to stay three enjoyable evenings with one of the highlights being dinner at the Spoon Cafe which is situated on a 75 meter boat. Not only was the food excellent - but the view across the river and onto the Buda Castle (when using the facilities) is staggering at night:



The weather was really warm and I eagerly took the opportunity for a short walking tour of the city - which involved first taking the local underground metro which was clean and efficient. The first stop we made was at Heroes' Square :



Then a short walk over to Vajdahunyad Castle which contained some nice buildings, is surrounded by a mote and has some interesting statues. Here Basil seeks some ancient history guidance:



While Alan touches the quill of "Anonymous" for good luck:



If time had allowed I would love to have spent a whole day enjoying the Gellert Baths:




I had a nice time in Budapest, but as usual there are still a wealth of other attractions I missed out on. I look forward to going back and taking more of this historical in.

Warning -- The U.S. Embassy circulates a list of restaurants that engage in "unethical business practices" such as "excessive billing," using "physical intimidation" to compel payment of excessive bills, and "assaulting customers" for nonpayment of excessive bills. If you don't want to encounter the "restaurant mafia," avoid these places.

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